Brookeland Independent School District Local Wellness Policies

Brookeland Independent Wellness Policy Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Brookeland Independent School District wellness policy will follow nutritional guidelines that advance student health and reduce childhood obesity. It shall provide a school environment that enhances the learning and developing of lifelong wellness practices through nutrition education, physical activity, and other school based activities.

GOALS

Therefore, it is the policy of the Brookeland Independent School District that:

• The school district will engage students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing district wide nutrition and physical activity policies.
• All students in grades PK-12 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
• Foods and beverages sold or served at school will meet the nutrition recommendations of the Federal and State guidelines.
• Qualified child nutrition professionals will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to ear.
• All schools in the district will participate in the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program.
• Schools will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish linkages between health education and school meal programs, and with related community services.

Brookeland Independent School District Wellness Policy

Revised: March 6, 2020

The Brookeland Independent School District recognizes that good physical and mental health fosters improved student attendance, education, and learning.

The policies outlined within this document are intended to create a school environment that protects and promotes the health of our students. This policy applies to all schools in the district. Our commitment to providing nutrition, education, and regular physical activity, as well as access to nutritious food for all students.

Mission Statement: The mission of Brookeland Independent School District is to promote a healthy lifestyle for students, parents, and staff which will lead to a lifelong maintenance of healthy habits. Brookeland ISD is committed to the optimal development of every student.

School Wellness Committee

The District will convene a School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) that meets at least once a year. This committee will establish goals for school health and wellness policies and programs. The SHAC will represent all school levels and include but not limited to: School administrator, community members, parents, local school board member, school nutrition staff, physical education personnel

and school health professional. To the extent possible, the SHAC will reflect the diversity of the community. The Health and Wellness Director will convene the SHAC, facilitate development of, assess, implement and make updates to the wellness policy.

Recordkeeping

The District will retain records to document compliance with requirements of the wellness policy at the District's Office of the Child Nutrition Director and in the

office of the Superintendent. Documentation maintained in this location will include but not limited to:

• The written wellness policy
• Documentation demonstrating compliance with community involvement requirements, including (1) efforts to actively solicit School wellness committee membership form the required stakeholder groups; and (2) these groups participation in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the wellness policy.
• Documentation of annual policy progress reports for each school under its jurisdiction; and
• Documentation of the triennial assessment of the policy
• Documentation demonstrating compliance with public notification requirements, including: (1) methods by which the wellness policy; annual progress reports, and triennial assessments are made available to the public; and (2) efforts to actively notify families about the availability of wellness policy.

   

  Records will be retained for five (5) years.

   

  Annual Progress Reports

   

  The district will compile and publish an annual report to share basic information about the wellness policy and report on the progress of the school within the district in meeting wellness goals. This annual report will be published around the same time each year, and will include information from each school within the district. This report will include, but not limited to:

   

• The website address for the wellness policy and/or how the public can receive/access a copy of the wellness policy.
• A description of the school progress in meeting the wellness policy goals
• A summary of the school's events or activities related to wellness policy implementation
• The Child Nutrition Director's or Designated Wellness Liaison's contact information
• Information on how individuals and the public can get involved with the SHAC

Triennial Progress Assessments

At least once every three (3) years, the District will evaluate compliance with the wellness policy to assess the implementation of the policy and include:

• The extent to which the school under the jurisdiction of the District are in compliance with the wellness policy
• A description of the progress made in attaining the goals of the District's wellness policy

   

  Revisions and updating the policy

   

  The SHAC will update or modify the wellness policy based on the results of the annual progress reports and triennial assessments. The wellness policy will be assessed sand updated as indicated at least every three (3) years.

   

  Nutrition Education

   

  The District aims to teach, model, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. School will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:

   

• Is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health
• Is part of health education classes
• Include enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, and participatory activities such as taste-testing
• Promote fruits, vegetables, whole-grain products, and low-fat and fat-free dairy products, and healthy food preparation methods
• Link with school meal programs, cafeteria nutrition promotion activities, other school foods, and nutrition-related community services

Physical Education Goals

Brookeland ISD will provide students with physical education, using age appropriate, sequential physical education curriculum consistent with national and

state standards for physical education. The physical education curriculum will promote the benefits of a physically active lifestyle and will help develop skills for adaptive students to engage in lifelong healthy habits, as well as incorporate essential health education concepts. Brookeland Physical Education program will promote student physical fitness through the Fitnessgram assessment. Here they will receive individual reports for students and parents to acknowledge the student's performance.

Goal #1: School will provide opportunities for students to maintain physical fitness.

• Physical activity shall not be used as a reward or punishment
• Provide opportunities for physical activity outside the classroom and/or school day

   

  Goal #2: School will adopt or exceed the state standards for physical activity.

   

• State-certified physical education instructors teaching all physical education classes
• Strive toward physical education classes to have a student/adult ration not to exceed 45:1. If ratio is greater than 45:1, district must identify manner in which safety will be maintained
• K-5^th grade students shall a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily, or 135 minutes weekly
• 6^th - 8^th grade students shall have a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily or 135 minutes weekly

  0       Time allotted for physical activity will be consistent with national and state standards

  0 All physical education instructors and their paraprofessional assistants must be trained in CPR/AED

   

  Goals #3: Essential Physical Activities for Health Education

   

• Physical education can help to contribute to a healthy weight
• An inactive lifestyle can contribute to chronic disease

• Phases of an exercise session: warm-up, workout, cool down
• Health related fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and body composition
• Preventing injury during physical activity
• Monitoring goals and reaching goals in an individualized physical activity plan
• Dangers of using drugs, such as steroid and other illegal drugs

Recess for Elementary

Brookeland ISD will offer at least 30 minutes of recess for most days during the school year. Recess will complement not substitute, physical education classes.

Active Academics

Brookeland ISD will support classroom teachers incorporating physical activity and employing kinesthetic learning approaches into core subjects by providing opportunities and resources, including information on leading activities and activity options.

Other Activities that promote Student Wellness

Brookeland ISD will promote and integrate wellness activities in the school setting through student activities and community activities. Our goal and objective is to promote students well being, optimal development, and strong educational outcomes.

Staff Wellness and Health Promotion

Brookeland ISD encourages staff member participation in health promotion programs and will support programs for staff members on healthy eating and weight management that are accessible and free or low-cost

Nutrition Standards

USDA's Team Nutrition provides free nutrition education and promotion materials, including standards-based nutrition education curriculum and lesson plans, posters, interactive games, menu graphics, and more.

Any foods and beverages marketed or promoted to students on the school campus during the school day will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards, (or, if stronger, "state nutrition standards"), such that only those foods that comply with or exceed those nutrition standards are permitted to be marketed or promoted to students.

School Meals

Our school district is committed to serving healthy meals to children, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat milk; moderate in sodium, low in saturated fat, and zero grams trans-fat per serving (nutrition label or manufacturer's specification); and to meet the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements. The school meal programs aim to improve the diet and health of school children, help mitigate childhood obesity, model healthy eating to support the development of lifelong healthy eating patterns, and suppo1i healthy choices while accommodating cultural food preferences and special dietary needs.

The school within the District participate in USDA child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. The school within the district are committed to offering school meals through the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, and other Federal Child Nutrition programs, that:

• Are accessible to all students
• Are appealing and attractive to children
• Are served in clean and pleasant settings
• Meet and exceed current nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations. (The District offers reimbursable school meals that meet USDA nutrition standards).

Participation in Federal Child Nutrition Programs will be promoted among students and families to help ensure that families know what programs are available in their child's school.

Staff Qualifications and Professional Development

All school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff will meet or exceed hiring and annual continuing education/training requirements in the USDA professional standards for child nutrition professionals. These school nutrition personnel will refer to USDA's Professional Standards for School Nutrition Standards website to search for training that meets their learning needs

Water

To promote hydration, free, safe, unflavored drinking water will be available to all students throughout the school day and throughout every school campus. The district will make drinking water available where school meals are served during mealtimes.

Competitive Foods and Beverages

The District is committed to ensuring that all foods and beverages available to students on the school campus during the school day support healthy eating. The foods and beverages sold and served outside of the school meal programs (i.e., "Competitive" foods and beverages) will meet the USDA Smart Snacks in school nutrition standards, at a minimum. Smart Snacks aim to improve student health and well-being, increase consumption of healthful foods during the school day, and create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits. A summary of the standards and information are available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/healthierschoolday/tools-schools-smart-snacks.

The alliance for a healthier generation provides a set of tools to assist with implementation of Smart Snacks available at: www.healthiergeneration.org/smartsnacks.

To support healthy foods choices and improve student health and well-being, all food and beverages outside the reimbursable school meal programs that are sold to students on the school campus during the school day (and ideally, the extended

school day) will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks nutrition standards (or, if the state policy is stronger, "will meet or exceed state nutrition standards"). These standards will apply in all locations and through all services where food and beverages are sold, which may include, but are not limited to, a la carte options in cafeterias, vending machines, school stores, and snack or food carts.

Fundraising

Foods and beverages that meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snack in Schools nutrition standards may be sold through fundraisers on the school campus during the day.

Nutrition Promotion

Nutrition promotion and education positively influence lifelong eating behaviors by using evidence-based techniques and nutrition messages, and by creating food environments that encourage healthy nutrition choices and encourage participation in school meal programs. Students and staff will receive consistent nutrition messages throughout the school cafeteria. Nutritional promotion also includes marketing and advertising nutritious foods and beverages to students and is most effective when implemented consistently through a comprehensive and multichannel approach by school staff and teacher, parents, students, and the community.

Monitoring and Evaluation

This Wellness Policy was developed by the School Health Advisory Committee, a group comprising individuals from the following groups: parents, teachers, school administration, food service director and staff, health services, and health and physical education staff. The committee is active-meetings are held once during the school year to review and revise, if needed, policy content and to design and evaluate implementation plans throughout the district school. The Committee shall also undertake additional tasks as consistent with the wellness policy guidelines issued by the USDA. The meeting date and time will be posted on the school district's website. The Principal of the school will ensure compliance within the school and will report on compliance to superintendent, who will provide a report to school board and the wellness committee. The superintendent will identify a